Updated

03/24/2015 - 9:30am

A few dozen elderly US veterans have traveled back to Iwo Jima, scene of one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific during World War II. One of them, former fighter pilot Jerry Yellin, talks about the battle and one buddy who never returned.

First lady Michelle Obama promoted girls education in developing countries alongside her Japanese counterpart Akie Abe. But she avoided the elephant in the room — Japan's own struggles with gender inequity.

Not everyone who evacuated the area near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant four years actually had to leave. But four years later, despite government reassurances — and plenty of pressure — they say returning to their homes still isn't safe.

On the fourth anniversary of the tsunami and nuclear disaster, a museum displays photographers who not only recorded the event's physical effects but interpreted the tragedy's overarching significance.

No one expected the Yagisawa Shoten soy sauce company to come back after the 2011 tsunami, in which its inventory was washed away by 55-foot-high waves. But a good deed led to a discovery — and the soy sauce's return.

In general, the average Japanese person, regardless of age, thinks Japanese hip-hop is a little weird — at least, Japanese people trying to do hip-hop is weird. But a new rapper is using his rough, violent upbringing to try and crack the mainstream.

Updated

03/12/2014 - 2:15pm

Three years after the tsunami-induced meltdown at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, PBS NewsHour correspondent Miles O'Brien talks about the continuing contamination crisis, and the accident that caused him to lose his arm.

A woman was sentenced by elders to a public gang rape in her village in the West Bengal area to punish her for an affair. India's Supreme Court is investigating. A signal room in London's Underground gets flooded, with quick-drying cement. And an artist is painting and placing cut-outs of immigrant workers around LA. All that and more, in today's Global Scan.

Updated

07/08/2014 - 1:15pm

The drama has been intense on the field during the World Cup... and then there have been the games. The Wall Street Journal tallied up the theatrical moments of feigned injuries — and Brazil is the clear winner. At least in Brazil, women can attend the matches. Not so in Iran. And the US warns travelers away from visiting much of Africa, all in today's Global Scan.

A post-Fukushima effort to crowdsource radiation data in Japan has since become the largest source of radiation data in the country. And it's now set to expand to other parts of the world. Catherine Winter reports from Tokyo.

Scientists are establishing a worldwide network of deep-sea listening posts connected to the Internet. It allows researchers -- and the public -- to hear whales, ships, and other underwater sounds. But the US Navy is uneasy.

Famed composer Mamoru Samuragochi, known as "Japan's Beethoven" because he claims to be deaf, has admitted that he paid a ghost writer to compose his music. And the ghost writer says Samuraghochi may not actually be deaf.

Shabani is tall, dark, handsome ... and a gorilla. While becoming a sensation in Japan, he's also touched off debates about his hotness, girls love for him — and about Japan's frequent labeling as "weird" by outsiders.

An appearance by a beloved Japanese pop group on the country's big New Year's Eve song competition was supposed to a high point of the night. It was — but mostly because the group's lead singer, Keisuke Kuwata, sported a Hitler mustache that some people think was a swipe at the prime minister.

The Mayan civilization thrived more than a thousand years ago. Many of its cities simply disappeared as jungle overtook them. One of them was found decades ago and then lost again, until now. We also report on why women may be bearing the brunt of Ebola's attack in West Africa, and how Syrian cyber-warriors are using viral clickbait to trap enemies of the Syrian regime. All that and more, in today's Global Scan.

Updated

03/24/2015 - 9:30am

A few dozen elderly US veterans have traveled back to Iwo Jima, scene of one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific during World War II. One of them, former fighter pilot Jerry Yellin, talks about the battle and one buddy who never returned.

First lady Michelle Obama promoted girls education in developing countries alongside her Japanese counterpart Akie Abe. But she avoided the elephant in the room — Japan's own struggles with gender inequity.

For $45 a day, you can send your toy on a Tokyo tour, with stops at tourist hot spots like the Tokyo Tower, The Imperial Palace and the Meiji Jingu Shrine. For an additional charge, your stuffed animal can also spend a day at the spa. Oh, and, you're not invited along.

It's hard enough finding clothes that fit when you're a large size, but what about when you're under five feet tall? Pien Huang thought she had the answer, but the small sizing that makes her love Japanese chain Uniqlo means that the company's US stores are losing money.

Shabani is tall, dark, handsome ... and a gorilla. While becoming a sensation in Japan, he's also touched off debates about his hotness, girls love for him — and about Japan's frequent labeling as "weird" by outsiders.

The Korean American community is standing by a new statue honoring thousands of "comfort women," or sex slaves, used by Japanese soldiers during World War II. Japanese conservatives say the statue has to go. And both sides are taking the issue to the White House.

The Scotch whisky industry has gotten a wake up call after a single malt from Japan was named the best in the world. Jim Murray, who publishes an annual "Whisky Bible," says there's more choice and more quality from places like Japan and the US than ever before.